A Venerable Old Card Part 32

I have been eying a few of the new Gold Label cards that were released a few weeks back by Topps.  I am not going to buy a box of them, probably won't open a pack of them, but the single cards are rather nice in appearance.

This year's Gold Label is a rehash of a Topps product from the late 1990s and early 2000s.  The design is not quite 1998, but of designs of the original brand, that seems to be the closest to this year's cards.  All of the looking got me reminiscing about my old Gold Label cards which stashed deep in my closet of cards.

Shuffling through them I happened upon one of my greatest retail pulls of the late 1990s and this week's Venerable Old Card.  Let me first off say that I did not really like retail cards back in that era minus a few larger sets that I was trying to put together and needed to supplement from hobby boxes.  That being said, I bought two packs of Gold Label retail at the Cape Girardeau, Missouri Target store sometime during the fall of 1998.

The cards were card and this card was the best of the lot....

I am not sure that I noticed the card right away, but at some point on the third or fourth time flipping through the small stack of cards I noticed that the Gold Label logo in the top was red.  Gold Label has all sort of different variations with different background pictures and logo colors, etc.  So, the red logo?  Serial numbered out of 100...

I know some of you read that 100 number on the print run and are maybe somewhere between unimpressed to thinking about clicking over to another blog.  However, a print run of 100 was a big deal back in the late 1990s.  I am not sure what its modern equivalent would be, but these cards were tough.  Not only tough, but also really hard to pull out of retail packs.  I took a little bit of time to flip through some different websites to see if I could find the odds, but no luck.  

Besides being a cool card, I enjoyed watching Jeromy Burnitz play.  Sure, he was a Brewer and in the same division as the Cardinals.  He even burned the Cardinals a few times during his career, but he had one of the best swings from that era of baseball.  

His swing was really long, he struck out a lot, and hit a bunch of home runs.  The follow through was the best part of it.  I have a hard believing that MLB's YouTube channel has a limited selection of his videos.  I used this one, because the other is a walk off home run against Alan Benes (Cardinals Alan Benes).  

2012 Topps Five Star Terry Pendleton Autograph

There are very few major Cardinals players that I have watched during my lifetime that I haven't been able to find a certified autograph of at some point.  Sometimes I have had to wait awhile to find them, but they eventually turn up.  The newest addition to my collection would fit into that category.  Terry Pendleton is probably most noted as the Braves third basemen prior to the arrival of Chipper Jones and the winner of the 1992 National League MVP.

2012 Topps Five Star Terry Pendleton Autograph 

Pendleton actually spent the first seven season of his career, 1984 to 1990, with the Cardinals where he was apart of the "Whiteyball" era teams.  While Pendleton wasn't a huge threat to steal bases, or run, he was a great defensive third basemen and was a solid run producer at times batting behind Jack Clark.  He later played for the Braves, Marlins, Reds,  and Royals.  Pendleton has a certified autograph in the 2004 Topps Fan Favorites set and is a great in-person signer, but I just never managed getting around to find one of his autographs.  Late last week I ran into a fellow collector who was looking to trade this gem for the new Five Star release and couldn't pass up this card.  

2001 Fleer Autographics Jeromy Burnitz Autograph

I also got this Jeromy Burnitz autograph as an additional card in the trade.  I was pretty happy to score an autograph of the Brewers former right-fielder.  

30 Year Top 50: 1991 Bowman

#44- It's funny what turns people away from and then back towards certain card sets.  I think I busted a few packs of 1991 Bowman cards and stopped quickly.  This was the third Bowman release which had quickly abandoned the borrowed 1953 Bowman Color design it used in the 1989 release for two consecutive years of rainbow bordered junk.  Here's one of my favorites:

1991 Bowman Donovan Osborne

I considering going with Geronimo Pena, but he might deserve his own blog post one of these days.  So, style wise this set is kind of a dud, but my opinions about it changed greatly over the past twenty years.  The tide started to turn during the 1998 home run race.  I spent some time that summer following the some of the other home run hitters around the National League and really enjoyed getting a chance to see Jeromy Burnitz.  I cannot find a Jeromy Burnitz video that shows his swing, but I feel like this 1998 Upper Deck Ovation card catches the best part of it.  He had a really long swing and a really long follow thru.  I don't think he ever got cheated on a swing.  Ever.

1998 Upper Deck Ovation Jeromy Burnitz

So, I was enjoying the Jeromy Burnitz swing and on my next trip into my local card shop I started looking around for some Burnitz cards.  The shop owner quickly prompted me to a cheapy table of late 1980's wax and a few odds and ends.  In the middle of the table: 1991 Bowman Sets.  I actually considered not buying the set.  They were on clearance for $10.  He also had some Score wax for $5.  I bought the set, took it home, and threw it in the closet sealed.  I eventually stumbled upon a loose single copy of the Burnitz rookie and was happy to add a second to my collection.

1991 Bowman Jeromy Burnitz

Sometime in between 2000-2005 I forgot I had the set.  It was in my closet of baseball cards, but it was largely ignored.  I the fall of 2005 I moved to Durham, North Carolina for a new job.  In finding a new job I also found out that sports card stores in North Carolina are mainly about basketball cards.  Instead of walking in the door hearing about a cool Cardinals card, or great autographed ball someone just got, I had to hear about either the Heels, Deacs, Devils, or Wolfpack.  Disappointed, I spent one Saturday morning driving out to a Flea Market somewhere out in the middle of nowhere.  

The selection at the sports cards tables was sparse.  There was the ever present cool ACC basketball stuff.  One guy tried to convince me that I needed a Ralph Sampson signed basketball to complete my collection.  I settled for an old friend.  A $7.00 box of 1991 Bowman with sticks of gum.  I took the box home and started busting open packs.  I was amazed at the quality of rookie cards in the set.  Amazed.  Here they are:

1991 Bowman Chipper Jones  

1991 Bowman Jeff Bagwell

1991 Bowman Jim Thome

1991 Bowman Ivan Rodriguez

1991 Bowman Mike Mussina

I returned to the Flea Market a few weeks later, bought a second box, and finished off the set.  I am proud to own two copies of this set, I still have the factory set too, and I frequently flip through the cards.  Tell me this:  What other set can you buy as inexpensively as you can buy this one and guarantee yourself the rookie cards of four Hall of Famers and one really good pitcher?  I cannot think of one.  I have ever come to appreciate the awesome borders on this set.  They are a good feature of any early 90s Topps release.  This set is a great add to any collection.   

Like the 1991 Bowman Set?  Not in my Top 50 is the 1989 Bowman Set.  Topps issued this product to relaunch the Bowman product which has put out a set ever since this release.  Theses cards borrowed their style and size from the 1953 Bowman Color release.  If you own any old Bowman cards you know they are a quarter inch larger than the standard trading cards issued today.  

1989 Bowman Ozzie Smith

The reissue of Bowman not only served as a relaunch, but also acted as a traded set/prospect set for the company.  Many people complain about the 1989 set not resembling the current product at all in style or in substance, but the substance argument is actual dead wrong.  A quick flip through the set and you will see many players that were draft picks or prospects.  In fact, every team has at least one prospect or draft pick card in it's team set in addition to the veteran players.  For example, the Giants draft pick is none other than Miguel Tejada from Moneyball: Royce Clayton.  

1989 Bowman Royce Clayton

The most important rookie/prospect card in this set belongs to Ken Griffey Jr.  The Bowman Griffey rookie is actually my second favorite behind the classic 1989 Upper Deck rookie.  The card has a really clean look and he is not wearing a minor league uniform like the Upper Deck card.

1989 Bowman Ken Griffey Jr. 

  

Topps also used the 1989 Bowman set as a traded/update set that year in addition to the regular release of the Topps Traded set.  The most significant update card that year was the Texas Rangers issue Nolan Ryan card.  

1989 Bowman Nolan Ryan

Overall, the 1989 Bowman set is another great set from the late eighties that is worth adding to your card collection.  It has great pictures and design elements combined with a great checklist of players.  You can find these sets for around $10.  Worth your time and money to find.  

  

  

Two Gold Labels and Two Autographs

This past Friday I made a small trade that netted me four really nice cards for my collection.  The first pair come from the 1998 Topps Gold Label set.  If you've read my previous blog entries you've probably noticed I really like the 90's card sets.  Most of them.  The Gold Label set ran from 1998 through 2002 and featured a tier set similar to some of the late 90's Fleer sets.  In fact, the card design and the tiering remind many people of the Fleer Showcase sets.  The first tier, or Class 1, of the Gold Label set are the easiest to find and the Class 3 are the toughest at four per case.  The two cards I picked up come from the first and third tier of the set.

1998 Topps Gold Label Class 1 Jeromy Burnitz Red Label 26/100

1998 Topps Gold Label Class 3 Ray Lankford 

The Jeromy Burnitz card is labeled to 100 and is part of the Red Label parallel.  Burnitz was a great masher in the late 90s and a fun player to watch.  Here's a video of him, Mike Piazza, and Joe McEwing trying to beat up Guerillmo Mota.  Ray Lankford is self explanatory.  

I also picked up two autographs in the trade too both from the 2011 Bowman Sterling set. 

2011 Bowman Sterling Nathan Eovaldi Autograph

 2011 Bowman Sterling Maikel Cleto Autograph